Krill are some of the most important prey species on the planet, but what are they and why are they so important?

What are Krill?

Krill are shrimp-like invertebrates that live in the ocean. Despite only growing around 2.4 inches long, these crustaceans contribute massively to ocean food webs. They are the main component in the diets of species across a whole range of taxa, including cephalopods, birds, fish and of course mammals, such as whales.

Krill feed on phytoplankton and sea ice-algae. During summer, plankton are combed out of the water column with their forelegs which are then consumed. During Winter, when plankton stocks rapidly decline, Antarctic krill feed on sea-ice algae. Krill use their specialized seatae to rake off algae from the underside of pack ice to then eat. In fact, one krill can graze a square foot clear of algae in just 10 minutes!

Extreme Environments

Antarctica, and the surrounding Southern Ocean, are considered one of the most ‘extreme’ habitats in the world, and krill are no stranger to this extreme environment. The Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, one of the largest known krill species and can live up to 10 years, despite its heavy demand as prey. They are found throughout the Southern Ocean, up to the Antarctic convergence. By adapting their enzymes (including lactate dehydrogenase and citrate synthase), they can reduce their metabolism seasonally to compensate for reduced plankton levels in winter. Additionally, they contain vitamin E constituents which are thought to increase antioxidant protection levels at low temperatures. The distribution of krill is certainly extreme in its own right, with swarms of Antarctic krill exceeding the total weight of all humans on Earth. They also congregate in swarms so extensive and dense, they can be seen from space!

A krill’s purpose

Figure 3: Role of krill in the Antarctic food web, red lines showing the interconnections between krill and other species -(British Antarctic Survey)

Krill are one of the most fundamental prey species in the food web, see figure 3, particularly in the extremes of Antarctica. Antarctic krill provide an important link between the primary producers and higher trophic levels within the ocean. Krill are larger than most phytoplankton-feeders, such as copepods which are around 0.04-0.08 inches. Their size, along with their numerous abundance, makes them an ideal prey source, particularly to larger predators. Annually, half of all krill is eaten by whales, sea birds, seals, penguins, squid and fish. As such, krill have very efficient feeding abilities and reproduction strategies, such as multiple spawnings each of which can have as many as 10,000 eggs, allows them to stave off extinction by predation alone.

Antarctic krill survival into adulthood is correlated with sea ice cover. Survival increases when ice develops earlier in the year and remains for longer periods, allowing krill more time under the ice in a refuge from predators with a constant food source.

Adaptations

Being such a sought after prey species, krill have adapted defensive strategies against predation. Most obviously, krill aggregate in ‘swarms’; dense congregations which make it more difficult for predators to hunt individuals and decrease attacks from smaller predators which would only attack singular krill. However, living in swarms has disadvantages too, allowing large predators, like whales, to hunt the entire swarm for food.

Krill also diurnally migrate, meaning they stay in cold deep water (~320 feet) during the day, and rise to the surface for feeding during the night. The nocturnal movement of krill allows them to avoid the heavier predation risks of feeding in the day, especially from more sight-dependent predators, such as birds.

Physiologically, they have developed a hard exoskeleton, which reduces the risk of injury from smaller predators. This can also be used in ‘decoy moulting’; where krill shed their exoskeleton when being chased, in order to confuse the predator long enough for the krill to escape.

Additionally, krill’s bioluminescence, which remains unknown in its exact purpose, may be a self-defense tactic. Krill emit yellow-green light from photophores periodically, which is believed to counteract the light of their shadow and allow them to remain unseen, thus serving as an anti-predator device.

Declining ice mass, due to global warming, resulting in less Antarctic pack ice is the chief driver of the changes in krill abundance. Antarctic krill, particularly juveniles, rely on pack ice for both food source and refuge from predators. Losses of this needed ice results in krill decline. Additionally, during years of low krill stocks, salps (free-floating filter-feeders) proliferate. Salps have a very limited contribution to the wider food web, unlike krill, therefore their replacement when krill is low can be disastrous for hundreds of species, far beyond krill themselves.

Ocean acidification, due to rising carbon dioxide in the water, may also be having physiological affects on krill. with increasingly lower pH, their carbonate exoskeletons become more vulnerable to dissolution. This is a particular problem at the poles, where under-saturation of carbonate will be seen sooner, due to the colder waters there.

Overall, Antarctic krill have a huge impact on the surrounding ocean for such a small invertebrate. Ultimately, helping sustain healthy krill populations may be just as important, if not more so, as protecting top predators, in regards to the health of our oceans.

1 Comment Already

Hey Lucy, as promiced I’ve got some feedback for you 🙂
really good topic, there is good flow, no jarring transition between introduction of the species, food chain, adaptainos and conservation, which is a testement to your structuring.
the tone is perhaps a bit too informal but that can be easily rectified.
I have emailed you more detailed feedback, but overall very informative without being dry and boring, really good 😀

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Extreme marine habitats is a site dedicated to those habitats that are simply extreme! Written by students, we aim to provide detailed and insightful information on a variety of marine science subjects.